Civil Service: Training

Baroness Tyler of Enfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many training courses for civil servants were scheduled to be delivered by Civil Service Learning for April-June 2012; and how many were actually delivered. [HL2056]

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: April to June 2012 was Civil Service Learning’s first quarter of delivery of training provision. Civil Service Learning gives civil servants access to both e-learning and face-to-face training as well as thousands of learning resources. Over the April to June 2012 period 45,609 learning activities were delivered across the Civil Service including 65 face-to-face events. We anticipate a higher number of face-to-face courses in future quarters as we have now introduced a forward planning system.

Cybercrime

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are aware of any recent cyberattack on UK banks or other banks with branches in the United Kingdom. [HL1987]

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on specific details of cybersecurity incidents.

Cybercrime

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision they are making in conjunction with the private sector to protect the UK financial system from cyberattack. [HL1988]

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with UK-based banks in which the taxpayer has a shareholding about protecting those institutions from private-, terrorist- or foreign government-sponsored cyberattacks. [HL1989]

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government take the threat of cyberattacks very seriously which is why we have committed �650 million over the next four years to respond effectively to threats from cyberspace through the National Cyber Security Programme, and the Cyber Security Strategy published in November 2011 has a wide-ranging set of measures in place to protect businesses and individuals from cyberattacks and sets out our plans for how we will improve the UK’s cybersecurity and build confidence by creating a more secure and resilient cyberspace.
The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure provides advice on electronic and cyberprotective security measures to the businesses and organisations that comprise the UK’s critical national infrastructure, including financial centres.
We have also established a joint public/private sector cybersecurity "hub" which includes organisations from defence, telecoms, finance, pharmaceuticals and energy. This allows the Government and the private sector to exchange information on cyberthreats and manage the response to cyberattacks.

Economy: Balance of Payments

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government by what methodology the Pink Book figures are compiled by the Office for National Statistics; and whether this differs from the methodology used by HM Treasury for producing figures for the balance of payments. [HL2022]

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for Office for National Statistics, to Lord Pearson, dated July 2012
As Director-General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question To ask Her Majesty's Government by what methodology the Pink Book figures are compiled by the Office for National Statistics; and whether this differs from the methodology used by HM Treasury for producing figures for the balance of payments. [HL2022]
The UK Balance of Payments (Pink Book) is produced annually by the Office for National Statistics, using data from a wide range of sources, including HM Treasury. The data published in Pink Book are consistent with the concepts and definitions in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Balance of Payments Manual Version 5 (BPM5), which is the internationally agreed framework for the compilation and presentation of Balance of Payments data.
Some of the data provided by HM Treasury are directly incorporated into Pink Book; some of the data are subject to further processing. Additional data from other sources, including the HM Treasury Combined Online Information System (COINS), and adjustments, are used so that the published data, including their presentation, are consistent with the international standards specified in the IMF BPM5. Pink Book contains a detailed ‘Methodological Notes’ section, which outlines the methodology used for the compilation of the data:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bop/united-kingdom-balance-of-payments/2011/bod-pink-book-2011.pdf
HM Treasury do not directly produce or publish Balance of Payments data, and therefore, there is no requirement for HM Treasury data to comply with the IMF BPM5. In summary, the data which are published by ONS and HM Treasury, are produced and published for different purposes, and hence in accordance with different specifications, and this explains the methodological differences between them. For example, BPM5 states that data must be on an accruals rather than a cash basis, and this is one of the methodological differences between the data published by the two sources. Another difference is that Balance of Payments data are based on calendar years, whereas HM Treasury data tend to be based on financial accounting years.

Government Departments: Private Contractors

Lord King of West Bromwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent difficulties with G4S’s contract to provide security for the Olympics, what assessment they have made of the guidance provided to government departments on entering into contracts with private sector organisations. [HL1751]

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Back in June the Government announced that we were stepping up the formal performance management of large, strategic suppliers. This will include formal reporting on performance and the identification of any high-risk suppliers so that past performance issues are properly taken into account before any new contracts are given.

Pensions

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 2 July (WA 128), which non-public sector organisations, companies, or charities have been permitted to enrol their staff as members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme; under what criteria; and how many individuals are involved for each permitted organisation. [HL2016]

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: None.

Pensions

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 2 July (WA 118), whether the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme maintained figures on the number of members made redundant annually or leaving under exit schemes and the cost of pension enhancements; and, if so, what were the numbers for each of the last five years in total and by department. [HL2018]

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Cabinet Office does not hold the figures requested. The matter of early departures is delegated to individual departments, as are decisions on redundancies and other early exits.